Introduction: The Clery Act, what’s that?
Jeanne Clery, a 19-year-old Lehigh University freshman, was assaulted and murdered in her dorm room in 1986. In 1998 the “Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security Act” was renamed in her memory. The Clery Act was enacted in the belief that crime awareness can prevent campus victimization.

The federal law requires colleges and universities receiving federal funding to prepare, publish, and distribute, by October 1 of each year, campus security / safety policies and crime statistics in the form or an Annual Security Report (ASR). College community members are notified, annually in September, of the availability of and how and where to access the ASR. Included in the ASR is a Fire Safety Report, a requirement for campuses with college controlled residential facilities. The Department of Education is responsible for Clery Act compliance.What is the role of a CSA?
CSA’s are encouraged to report all crimes reported to them, on a timely basis, to Campus Safety. However, under the Clery Act, CSA’s are only obligated to report Clery Act qualifying crimes which occurred on campus, in public areas bordering campus and in certain non-campus buildings owned or controlled (leased) by the College. CSA’s should only report those crimes that have not been previously reported to Campus Safety or another College CSA. The intent of including non-law enforcement/security personnel in the CSA role is to acknowledge that some community members and students in particular, may be hesitant about reporting crimes to the police or to Campus Safety but may be more inclined to report incidents to other campus-affiliated individuals.

To review information on reportable Clery Act crimes, reportable disciplinary referrals and/or the Clery Act incident occurrence locations that are reportable, please refer to the Clery Act CSA Report Forms. For additional information on the Clery Act and CSA responsibilities, review the information below or contact the Clery Act Coordinator, Chad Wolters, at woltersc@hope.edu.What makes you a CSA?
The law defines four categories of CSA’s:

1) A campus police department or a campus security department of an institution.

2) Any individual or individuals who have responsibility
for campus security but who do not constitute a
campus police department or a campus security
department (e.g., an individual who is responsible for
monitoring the entrance into institutional property).

3) Any individual or organization specified in an
institution’s statement of campus security policy as
an individual or organization to which students and
employees should report criminal offenses.

4) An official of an institution who has significant
responsibility for student and campus activities,
including, but not limited to, student housing, student
discipline and campus judicial proceedings. An
official is defined as any person who has the
authority and the duty to take action or respond to
particular issues on behalf of the institution. Who is not a CSA?
The following non-CSA positions / functions include but are not limited to: faculty member without responsibility for student and campus activity beyond the classroom; physicians/nurses in the Health Center who only provide care for students; clerical or administrative support staff; food service staff; facilities maintenance staff; information technology staff, licensed mental health or pastoral counselors, when acting within the scope of their license or certificate; and other like functions.CSA Crime Reporting
When a crime is reported to a CSA, first ask the person if they would like to report it to Campus Safety. If so, contact Campus Safety at (616) 395-7770. If the CSA has firsthand knowledge / confirmation that the reporting party filed a report with Campus Safety, then they are not obligated to complete and submit a CSA Crime Report Form. However, if the reporting party says they will file a report with Campus Safety and leaves (no CSA firsthand knowledge / confirmation that a report was filed), then the CSA must still complete and submit a Campus Security Authority Crime Report Form or a Sex Offenses Crime Statistic Report Form.

CSA's are encouraged to report all crimes reported to them, on a timely basis, to Campus Safety. However, under the Clery Act, qualifying crimes are required to be reported. The CSA Report Forms can be submitted to Campus Safety by fax at (616) 395-7768 or through mail, addressed to Hope College Campus Safety, 178 E. 11th St., Holland, MI 49423.

If the reported crime is made in good faith, meaning that there is reasonable basis for believing that the information is not rumor or hearsay, then the crime is Clery reportable. CSA’s, when interacting with the crime reporting party, need to gather incident information that would provide sufficient detail to properly classify the incident. This means CSA’s need to document reporting party responses or lack thereof. Reporting party identifying information should only be included in the Report Form if the reporting party is willing to provide same. CSA’s should not investigate the crime or attempt to determine whether a crime, in fact, took place. When in doubt, a Report Form should be completed and submitted!CSA Resources and Instructions

If the reported incident constitutes a threat to the safety to the Hope College community, in addition to completing a report form, the CSA should immediately contact Campus Safety. The appropriate report form should also be completed and submitted when it is safe to do so.

The CSA Report Forms should be completed as soon as possible after the incident is reported to the CSA. These forms can be submitted to Campus Safety by fax at (616) 395-7768 or through mail, addressed to Hope College Campus Safety, 178 E. 11th St., Holland, MI 49423.

Before completing the CSA form, inform the victim or other reporting party of your intention. A sample statement is given below:

"As part of my position on campus, I am a federally mandated crime reporter for the College. I am required to report of this incident to Campus Safety for data gathering. If you request confidentiality, the Report Form will not include your name, or that of any other involved individuals. My report will contain only the information you provide. Do you have any questions? Would you like to help me fill it out?"

Second hand reports may be unreliable or difficult to verify, but such reports should still be submitted. The potential for duplication of reported incidents shall not be a factor in whether or not a report is taken.

Clery Act reporting, via the CSA Report Forms, does not replace or change existing reporting requirements or procedures for disciplinary referrals or misconduct.

Hate Crimes present a special reporting challenge. CSA's are to document each reported Hate Crime occurrence and the related category of prejudice.

What is done with CSA Report Forms?
The Director of Campus Safety reviews Report Forms and makes a determination if an incident warrants timely warning / emergency notification of the College community and whether it is a reportable crime in the Annual Security Report (ASR). The Clery Act Coordinator will consolidate crime data from multiple sources, report qualifying crime data to the federal Department of Education, publish a campus ASR and inform the campus community when and where ASR is available. The Hope College ASR is posted at http://www.hope.edu/admin/campsafe/docs/campus_safety_and_you.pdf. Hard copies are available from Campus Safety upon request.Crime / Emergency and Non-Emergency Reporting
Regardless of your status (CSA or non-CSA), all community members are encouraged to promptly report all campus criminal incidents and other public safety related emergencies to Campus Safety. For incidents requiring immediate attention, dial 911 from a campus phone or use one of the “Blue Light” Emergency Phones located throughout campus. Non-emergency incidents can be reported by dialing 7770 from any campus phone or in person at Campus Safety office (178 E. 11th St., Holland, MI 49423).